Arts & Entertainment

She Says,
He Says

Rachel Feinstein will appear at Mark
Ridley's Comedy Castle in Royal Oak
before heading to Grand Rapids.

Suzanne Chessler
Special to the Jewish News

R

achel Feinstein, who recently
appeared on the NBC series Last
Comic Standing, grew up with an
inclination toward humor — imitating
people around her. She admired the char-
acter comedy of Michigan's Gilda Radner,
late star of NBC's Saturday Night Live.
Ultimately, Feinstein's Jewish grand-
mother would become the inspiration for
a segment in Feinstein's own character-
driven routine soon being spotlighted at
two venues in Radner's home state.
While Feinstein's first engagement will
be Feb. 17-19 at Mark Ridley's Comedy
Castle in Royal Oak, her second will be
March 11 in Grand Rapids as part of
Gilda's LaughFest. The 10-day, 20-plus
venue "festival of comedy, performance,
film and fun" benefits Gilda's Club Grand
Rapids and includes a lineup of comedi-
ans including Bill Cosby and Betty White.
Also appearing at Laughfest will be
Alan Zweibel, the Jewish comedian who
helped create the characters of Roseanne
Roseannadanna and Emily Litella with
Radner, and Dan Zanes, the children's
entertainer who with his Jewish wife is
raising his kids Jewish.
LaughFest marks the 10th anniversary
of the city's Gilda's Club, part of a nation-
wide network of groups started by Radner,
who battled cancer and wanted to support
families confronting the disease.
"I will be doing some material from
my Comedy Central Presents special and

This Weekend:

Traverse City Comedy Arts Festival
Feb.10-13, with headliners Bob Saget
and Jeffrey Ross
(231) 947-3446; comedyfesttc.com

Jewish comedians will appear at
Laughfest, a 10-day special event
benefiting Gilda's Club Grand Rapids.

a lot of new stuff I'm working on' says
Feinstein, who defines her age by "the
persona I'm [portraying] in the moment.
Mainly, I just gather material from my life,
interactions and ridiculous conversations.
"I'm a storyteller rather than somebody
who writes traditional jokes and punch
lines. Certain people jump out at me for
subjects.
"People will ask if I'm going to imitate
them. Usually, it's somebody with a strong
vocal affect or gestures. It's not necessarily
positive or negative'
Feinstein, daughter of a civil rights
lawyer and a blues musician, grew up in
Washington, D.C.
"I remember being obsessed with Tracy
Ullman and wanting to do something like
what she did: Feinstein recalls. "I watched
standup in high school and decided I
really wanted to be a comedian.
"I moved to New York when I was 17,
right out of high school. There was a little
club that let me watch the shows. I finally
did an open mike night and loved it right
away.
"It took me about 10 years to be myself
on stage. I was able to be relaxed, think
in the moment and tell stories that grew
weirder and longer. It's a great high, and I
can't imagine my life without it."
The humorist, who has been featured
on TV's Just For Laughs and Comics
Unleashed, has written for The Onion
and Heeb magazines. She is a support-
ing actress in the upcoming independent
films Circus Maximus and Peace After
Marriage, the latter about an Israeli-
Palestinian relationship.
Feinstein's Comedy Central CD, still
untitled, will be released in the next few
months on Comedy Central Records. Her
approach to humor can be previewed on
her website, rachel-feinstein.com .
"My grandmother, who was hilarious,

died of breast cancer when I was 19," says
Feinstein, who pays tribute to her with
the character "Ice-Cold Rhoda: World's
Toughest Hip-Hop Reviewer."
"She was very supportive of my going
to New York, and I had wanted to show
her I had done something with comedy.
Because of losing her and others in my life
to cancer, I understand what a wonderful
cause Gilda's Club is."
Myq (pronounced Mike) Kaplan, on
Last Comic Standing with Feinstein, brings
a different approach to the Grand Rapids
stage and can be previewed on his website,
myqkaplan.com.
"I'm more a joke teller than a story-
teller:' says Kaplan, who has performed
around Michigan more than a half dozen
times. "My jokes are usually short form.
I aim to get as many laughs in as short a
time as possible.
"Concept-wise, I do some political
things, some cultural things, some pop-
culture things. Actually, anything I think
about is fair game for what I talk about."
Kaplan, 32, who changed the spelling
of his first name while at summer camp
(inspired by the musician Prince changing
his name), tries to bring some local color
into his act.
"I'm a big fan of cars:' he says. "I was
pulled over once in a car likely made in
Michigan, and the cop asked if I knew
why he stopped me. I answered, `Probably
because you're lonely.' He said, `You're going
to have to come with me, and I said, `I

Myq Kaplan's recent recording, Vegan
Mind Meld, includes a selection titled
"Jews and Sea Creatures."

guess that proves it:"
Kaplan explains that he brings his
Jewish background into his humor
because of the way others perceive him.
"I originally wanted to be a professional
musician',' says Kaplan, the son of musi-
cians."I played the guitar and sang. Some
of the songs were funny.
"At the Comedy Studio in Boston, I'd
play songs and talk a little bit and found
making people laugh without a song was
rewarding. I decided not to carry the gui-
tar if I didn't need to."
Kaplan, who grew up in New Jersey and
earned degrees from Brandeis University
and Boston University focusing on psy-
chology, philosophy and linguistics, moved
to New York two years ago.
Besides appearing on Conan O'Brien's
and Craig Ferguson's late-night shows,
he has been featured on Comedy Central
Presents.
The humorist slices into his eating pref-
erences through a recent recording, Vegan
Mind Meld, which includes a selection
titled "Jews and Sea Creatures."
"I don't think animal deaths are a prob-
lem so much as the way animals are treat-
ed when they're alive,' he says. "Learning
about factory farming made me become a
vegetarian and then a vegan.
"I've heard that vegetarians live an aver-
age of seven years longer than non-vege-
tarians. Vegans live up to 15 years longer
because we're not invited anywhere fun or
dangerous." I

For information on Gilda's Laughfest, running March 10-20 in Grand Rapids, go
to laughfestgr.org .
Rachel Feinstein appears Feb.17-19 at Mark Ridley's Comedy Castle, 310 S.
Troy, Royal Oak. Performance times are 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 10:30
p.m. Friday-Saturday. $10-$15. (248) 542-9900; comedycastle.com .
As part of Gilda's Laughfest, Feinstein and Myq Kaplan appear 7 p.m. Friday,
March 11, at St. Cecilia Music Center, 24 Ransom NE, Grand Rapids. $17.50.
(800) 745-3000; laughfestgr.org .

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February 10 2011

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